Publications

February 2013 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Assured Guaranty

By: Robin Greenwood, Adi Sunderam and Jared Dourdeville

Nate Katz at Yokun Ridge Capital Management is evaluating an investment in Assured Guaranty, a municipal bond insurance company that is trading at a discount to book value. View Details

Keywords: Value Investing; Investments; Valuation; Insurance; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry

January 2018
Case

Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu

In 2015, Yıldiz Holding, one of the world’s largest producer of confections, biscuits and crackers, was at the end of its divestiture process from Ak Gida, one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. The company had adopted a dual track process, pursuing an initial... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Growth and Development Strategy; Value Creation; Decision Making; Growth Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Business Conglomerates; Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

April 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Internet Securities, Inc.: Path to Sustainability

By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and Ryan Johnson

Founded in 1994 when the Internet was still a "toy for techies," the case is set in 1998 when Internet IPOs were red-hot. Internet Securities provides hard-to-find financial, business, economic, and political information on emerging markets. Information from over 600... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Initial Public Offering; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (B)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry

March 2010
Teaching Note

Rosetree Mortgage Opportunity Fund (TN)

By: Victoria Ivashina and Andre F. Perold

Teaching Note for [209088]. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Capital; Mortgages; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Borrowing and Debt; Cash Flow; Bids and Bidding; Financing and Loans; Restructuring; Financial Markets; United States

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

deal that brings some rationality to the valuation of Internet stocks. These are just some generic strategies, of course. Your viability as a nonconsolidator will depend directly on the analysis and imagination you bring to the table as... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (A)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

Climate change was becoming an important societal and business issue as more governments were introducing climate change related regulations and investors became increasibly worried about stranded assets within oil and gas firms. In September 2016, the U.S. Securities... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Climate Change; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry

March 1998
Case

Bumper Acquisition (A2), A: Confidential Information for Medallion Capital, Inc.

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Located in Mundelein, IL, Thermo-Impact, Inc. is a rapidly growing, private firm that manufactures automotive bumpers. In 1995, a number of large automotive supply companies and a private equity investment firm offer to buy Thermo-Impact. The cases in this series focus... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Valuation; Negotiation Participants; Decision Making; Negotiation Process; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Offer; Acquisition; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Illinois

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23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

with a rapid increase in capital commitments have led to less restrictive partnership agreements, large investments in portfolio firms, and higher valuations for those investments. These patterns have led many practitioners to conclude... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

often conflicting. This case highlights these conflicts and stressors from all perspectives, providing unique insights and offering potential options. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/114009-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 213-043 Private Equity View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 23

and prices as a function of the consumer population's valuation for the service and show that competition has three main effects on the marketplace. First, competition drives the provision of services with a low level of disclosure.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 10

reflect fundamental values in the current environment. After announcing the alternative valuation methodology in September 2009, he must convince industry participants—ship owners, appraisers, and bankers—to adopt the new View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Supplement

Fair Value Accounting at Noble Group (B)

By: Siko Sikochi, Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

Following a series of reports by Iceberg Research alleging that Noble Group was too aggressive in its fair value accounting for contracts and investments in producers, Noble’s stock price continued to fall and stakeholders began to call for improved transparency in... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Contracts; Valuation

2012
Chapter

Valuing Financial Literacy

By: Shawn Cole, Thomas Sampson and Bilal Zia

Keywords: Financial Literacy; Valuation; Finance; Knowledge Use and Leverage

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January 2025
Supplement

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (B)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Acquisition; Trust; Ethics; Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

February 2004
Case

Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC

By: Ananth Raman and Vishal Gaur

An investment firm is trying to project inventory turns for Radio Shack, a chain of consumer electronics stores. The investment firm has access to public financial data but not to internal operational metrics. It needs to project inventory turns because inventory... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

August 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Delta & Pine Land: Measuring the Value of Transgenic Cotton

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Charlotte A. Tasker

Discusses the joint venture between two companies with different capabilities: 1) technology provider and 2) transportation agent. Discusses how to capture value from joint venture and biotechnology: 1) who are winners and who are losers; 2) how much value can/should... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Joint Ventures; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Performance Consistency; Information Technology; Transportation; Valuation; Biotechnology Industry